


Educating Makoto

by Ulysses_Quanta



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-11 19:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17452613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulysses_Quanta/pseuds/Ulysses_Quanta
Summary: Makoto wishes to learn more about love, and ropes Akira into helping her learn about it. With Morgana's help, can Akira help Makoto understand what love is?





	1. Chapter 1

"Makoto?"

Akira wasn't expecting any visitors today. Yet outside the door to Leblanc, stood his friend.

"May I come in?" she asked. He nodded and opened the door, allowing her to step in. Closing the door after her, he walked over to make a coffee as Makoto sat down at a booth.

"Isn't she the student council president?" Sojiro asked. Akira nodded as he worked on the cup. "Wonder what she wants with you."

"I have no idea." Pouring the coffee into a cup, he walked over to the booth and placed it in front of her, before returning to the machine to make another one.

"So, what brings you here?" Sojiro called to Makoto, who was taking a sip of coffee.

"I wanted to ask Akira something, and I didn't think it should be asked over the phone," she explained. Sojiro grunted and wandered over to the kitchen, keeping himself out of the way, but just in earshot.

"Where's Morgana?" Makoto asked as Akira sat down at the booth with his cup of coffee.

"I think he's having a nap upstairs."

"Ah."

The two sat in silence, drinking their coffees, trying to think of what to say.

"So... What was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, right." Makoto put down her cup for a moment. "Do you remember how I said I'd flunk a test on love?"

Akira glanced up from his coffee at Makoto and nodded.

"I've been thinking... If I want to learn more about love, I'll need to get out there and experience it for myself instead of just reading about it," Makoto explained.

"That is true. It's best to experience it for yourself," Akira agreed.

"So with that said... I would like for us to go on a date."

Akira promptly choked on his coffee. "Wait, what?" he got out between coughs.

"A... date?" Makoto looked at him in confusion. "That's what they are called, when two people-"

"Yeah yeah, I know that part." Akira finally stopped coughing and looked up at her. "Why me?"

"Well... We're already good friends, and I know I can trust you not to try anything, so why not?"

"Generally, people go on dates when-"

"He'd love to!" Morgana called out from behind Akira, causing him to turn around to look at him.

"Wait, when did you get down here?" he asked.

"Just then. It'll be fun, and it'll help you two work together better as a team. What do you, say, Akira?" Morgana asked.

The poor boy looked between Morgana and Makoto, and eventually nodded.

Makoto smiled. "Great. When do you want to meet for this?"

"How about tomorrow? That sushi place should be open," Morgana chirped in.

"No sushi." Akira turned to look at Makoto. "What about here at the Leblanc? We both know where it is.

"You really aren't trying with this, are you?" Morgana said, causing Akira to turn around and glare at the cat.

"Actually," Makoto interrupted before Akira could retort. "That would be nice. We can study as well."

"That's not what-"

"Great! I'll meet you here after school then?" Akira asked, cutting off Morgana before he could say anything else.

"That sounds good. I'll see you then." Makoto finished off her coffee, before standing up and putting the empty cup on the counter. "Thank you, Sojiro," she said simply before leaving the café.

"So... You've got a date then," Sojiro stated. Akira waited until Makoto was out of sight before lowering his head into his hands and sighing.

"Why did I agree to this?" Akira mumbled.

"Because it'll be nice, and you'll get to help her learn something." When Akira didn't respond, Morgana leapt onto the table and sat in front of him. "We could ask Ryuji to go on a date with her."

Akira's head snapped up. "No! No no, it's fine, I'll do it," he said quickly.

Morgana smirked. "Atta boy. Now come on, you should get to sleep early, you've got a date tomorrow."

"Right..." Akira quickly finished off the last of his coffee and stood up, grabbing Makoto's cup along the way to the sink.

"I'll make sure there's a booth spare for you two tomorrow. Behave yourselves while you are here, got it?" Sojiro told him as he started washing up the cups.

"Yeah. We'll behave," Akira said.

"Good. Well, I'm going. Make sure you close up before going to bed."

Akira finished drying the cups and put them away. "Got it." Sojiro nodded and walked out of the café, Akira locking it behind him.

"So... What exactly is your plan for tomorrow?" Morgana asked.

"Go to school, come back-

"I meant with Makoto."

Akira rubbed the back of his head apprehensively. "Do some studying together...? It's about spending time together, right?" he explained quickly to stop Morgana from correcting him.

Morgana sighed.

"Come on, you said to get to sleep early," Akira said as he went upstairs to bed.

_This is going to be awkward to watch_ , Morgana thought as he followed him up.

...

Akira looked down at his phone, which had just buzzed in his pocket.

_We still okay for the date?_

A nervous feeling flitted in his stomach as he sent his reply.

_Yeah. Meet you at Leblanc._

"Kurusu!" He looked up at the source of the voice. "You! Pay attention! Is that how you listen when someone's talking to you?" Mr Ushimaru demanded.

Akira looked blankly at him, before he noticed that his hand was gearing up to throw something at him.

He instinctively flinched as the chalk flew towards him, inadvertently making it fly past him, setting the rest of the class off murmuring.

"That was nuts!"

"Is he a ninja?"

Mr Ushimaru grimaced. "Tch... Well, whatever. Moving on," he grumbled as he turned back to the board.

"Nice going," Morgana whispered from underneath the table as Akira awkwardly scratched his head.

...

It was time.

Akira stood outside the train station, umbrella in hand to protect himself from the rain.

_Just like Morgana told me... Greet her here, walk her back to the café, hold umbrella over her so she doesn't get soaked,_ he reminded himself.

"Hey." Akira turned round to see Makoto emerging from the train station.

"Hey. This weather could be better for today," Akira said awkwardly as he tried to move the umbrella to cover her.

"Yeah. But I love the rain, it's nice for when we need to study," she said as she put her umbrella up, forcing him to move his away back over his head.

_There goes the umbrella part._

"Shall we?" Makoto asked. Akira nodded, and the two set off walking towards the café.

"I-I think when two people are on a date, they hold hands?" Akira mumbled.

"They do?" Makoto asked.

"M-maybe?"

"Oh." Both were silent as they walked, while Akira chided himself for being so awkward.

Both soon arrived at the café without any further events.

"Here we are," Akira said.

"I can see that." Makoto giggled as Akira's head dropped in response. "Come, no point staying in the rain." Akira nodded and opened the door for her to walk in the café, walking in and closing it as she thanked him.

"There's a booth free," Akira observed as he closed his umbrella. "You sit down, I'll get us some coffee," he said as he walked over to the coffee machine.

Makoto walked over to the empty booth and sat down, watching Akira as he set about making the coffees. The way he worked, how he ground up the beans and roasted them, were very impressive. It spoke of experience, showed he'd been doing it for a long time...

_There's a lot I don't know about him,_ she realised. She was drawn out of her thoughts by a cat jumping up on the table and sitting in front of her.

"So," Morgana began. "How has Akira been?"

"He's been good," Makoto answered. Morgana frowned, but was deterred from asking further by Akira bringing two cups of coffee over.

"You wanted to study, right?" Akira asked, ignoring the glare Morgana was giving him.

"Yes." Makoto reached into her bag and pulled out a school book and set it down. "There's some things in here that I'm stuck on,"

"I'm stuck on a few things as well," Akira admitted as he pulled out his school book as well.

"I see. We could help each other with them, then?" she offered. Akira nodded.

"So, Akira," Morgana interrupted. "Are you gonna mention how you dodged the chalk earlier?"

"Chalk?" Makoto looked at Akira, who rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Mr Ushimaru may have caught me on my phone... And he may have thrown chalk at me and I may have accidentally dodged it," he explained.

"You... dodged it?"

"I-I flinched and it went past me." Akira said quickly.

Morgana rolled his eyes, or attempted to, next to them. _She was almost impressed then,_ he thought.

"Oh. Well, it's impressive that you dodged it anyway," she reassured him, earning an awkward smile from him and a surprised look from Morgana.

"Anyway, I found the solutions I was stuck on, if you can help," Akira said as he flipped through a few pages in his book.

"I can try. Can you help me with mine?" Makoto asked. Akira nodded, and the two set to work.

...

"...So if you remember the mnemonic I taught you, you should be fine," Makoto explained as Akira closed the door to Leblanc behind them.

"I see. Thank you for that," he said as he attempted to open his umbrella. Unfortunately for Akira, the umbrella decided it had had enough of him and promptly sprang away from them, landing in two halves within a puddle.

"Oh dear," Makoto observed, before moving closer to Akira to shield him from the elements with her umbrella as he sighed.

"Sorry, Makoto. I need to grab the umbrella." She nodded and walked with him to the puddle it was currently bathing in. Taking hold of his hand to make sure he didn't topple into the water himself, she helped him reach down to pick up the pieces of his umbrella.

"It's broken..." he lamented, before looking down at their entwined hands. "Uh..."

"You said that when two people are on a date, they should hold hands. And b-besides, if you'd fell into the puddle, you could've gotten a cold," she explained.

"Right..." Akira nodded and huddled back under the umbrella. "We need to get you to the train," he reminded her.

"Of course." The two walked towards the train station, hands still entwined, still hiding under the umbrella.

"I guess this is where we say goodbye," Akira said as they stood in the train station.

"It is. Thank you, Akira. I learned a lot about what dates should be like."

"You did?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes. It is not about what you do, it is about the person you do it with," she explained.

"Oh. There's quite a bit more to dates other than who you do them with though."

"I see. In that case, we should do another one to see what else we can learn," Makoto said.

"Yeah. I'll look forward to it," Akira said.

"Good." A thought crossed Makoto's mind. "There was this... t-thing I read about, in regards to how dates should end. May we try it?" she asked him.

"Uhh... yeah, sure," Akira answered.

"O-okay." Both were hesitant for a minute, before Makoto stepped forward, close enough that Akira could smell her shampoo, and gave him a peck on the cheek, causing him to blush.

"T-thank you," he stammered out.

"No, thank you, Akira. T-this was nice," Makoto admitted, a faint blush dusting her cheeks, before she turned around and hurriedly walked away.

"Well then," Morgana's voice called out of his bag. "You two had a successful first date, and you got a second date! Well done, Akira."

"We've still gotta get back in the rain," he told him as he turned to look up the stairs.

"Well, you do. I have a warm bag to hide in!"

Akira sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said as he began walking up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So this is my first foray into Persona... I haven't finished the game yet, so I apologise if the characters are OOC, I'm working off videos I've found on YouTube and what I've seen so far.
> 
> I might continue this in the future, but for now, I hope you enjoyed this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating's going up to T because of the combat.

"Look! A treasure chest!"

"Indeed," Yusuke observed. "We just need to get past the Shadow first."

"Then let's go," Akira said as he hopped out of the Morganamobile. "Fox, Panther, Queen, with me!" The trio nodded and hopped out of the van to stand next to him as the Shadow dissolved, revealing two Heavenly Punishers.

"Fox, Panther, take the one on the right. Queen and I will take the left one," he ordered.

"Shall we?" Yusuke asked.

Ann nodded. "Same as before, Yusuke. Bring them down!" she called out as she hurled her whip forward, curling it behind the Punisher to strike it and knock it forward and off balance.

"Rising Slash!" Yusuke yelled, slicing his katana through the middle of the beast, causing it to vanish behind him. "That's one down," he said calmly, turning to look towards where Joker and Queen were standing. "Ours is finished!"

"I see. Ready Joker?" Makoto asked.

"When aren't I ready? How about you?"

"Of cour-" Queen's answer was cut short by Joker charging towards the Punisher and promptly getting flung aside by it.

_That looked like it hurt._

"Pathetic. I hope you'll be more of a challenge!" the Punisher roared as it picked up its sword and drove it towards Makoto, who closed her eyes and waited.

"Queen!" Ann called out.

Akira looked on as the blade drew closer to Makoto, until-

Now!" Makoto's eyes snapped open.

And the Punisher's eyes widened in shock, as it realised what had just happened.

"How?!" it demanded, staring down at its sword which had been caught between Makoto's hands just inches from her mask.

Makoto didn't answer. Just allowed herself a little smile.

_They never see it coming_ , Akira thought gleefully as he jammed his gun against the side of the Punisher and pulled the trigger thrice, dissolving the creature into nothingness.

"Amazing..." Yusuke whispered. "I must remember to draw that later."

"No matter how many times you do that, it never gets any less impressive," Akira said as he walked over to Makoto, spinning his gun on his finger.

"Good thing I had a good teacher, then."

"Yeah." Akira threw his gun into the air and caught it, before stowing it away in his jacket. "You're pretty good."

_He looks amazing when he does that,_ she thought.

_Wait, why did I just think that?_

Morgana flashed his hi-beams in annoyance.

"And you are too, Mona," Akira reassured him. "Now, let's get the treasure and go home."

"Right." The four of them walked over to the treasure chest, which was secured with a sturdy padlock.

"Joker, you have a lockpick, don't you?" Ann asked. Akira nodded, and promptly set to work unlocking the chest and opening it. "What is it?"

Akira gingerly picked it out of the chest. "Something that needs a wash," he said as he stored it away.

"I see."

"Does anyone else hear that?" Yusuke asked. The group went silent as they tried to listen for what Yusuke was hearing.

And then they heard it.

The unmistakable rattling of chains.

"Time to go." The group quickly ran over to the van and hopped in, Akira promptly taking the driver's seat. "Sorry, Morgana, but we need to leave. Gun it!"

"Hey! Don't force the gearbox so hard!"

...

"So, Akira..." Morgana began, glaring at the boy in question, who was slumped on the couch. "Why were you so determined to get out of there? You didn't need to drive like a maniac!"

"Reaper," he said simply.

"We've beaten it before."

"Yeah, by sheer attrition. I had to work for a month to afford the medicine we went through," he retorted.

"We could take it out ourselves now though!"

"I'm going to head for home, then," Yusuke interrupted, drawing the group's attention away from the growing argument.

"That's a good idea, actually. Everyone should go home and rest, you all did good today," Akira told them. The group nodded, and slowly began to stand up and disperse, with Yusuke and Ann heading off after exchanging goodbyes.

"Hey man." Akira looked up at Ryuji, who was stretching his back as he stood up. "You are right, it might be too much to face the Reaper at the-"

Morgana muttered something inaudible to himself.

"-at the moment," Ryuji continued, ignoring Morgana. "But we should give it a shot eventually."

Akira nodded. "We will."

"Cool. See you tomorrow." Ryuji set off down the stairs, leaving Akira, Morgana and Makoto in the attic.

"...Should we have faced the Reaper?" he asked.

"Yes, we should have, we could've totally-"

"No." Morgana turned to look at Makoto in surprise. "We aren't ready yet."

"Thank you, Makoto."

Morgana let out an annoyed sigh, causing Akira and Makoto to chuckle.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Akira," she said, standing up to leave.

"See you then. Text me once you've gotten home safely," he said as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, missing the small smile caused by his words. When he put his glasses back on, she was gone.

"Sojiro should be going soon. You should lock up," Morgana reminded him. Akira nodded and walked downstairs to where Sojiro was cleaning some cups.

"Your friends left. They looked exhausted," Sojiro observed.

"Yeah... School was tiring," Akira lied.

"Hmph." Sojiro dried the cups and stored them away. "I'm heading home. Lock up after me, will you?"

"Got it." With that, Sojiro left the café once more, with Akira locking up once he'd left.

"You know..." Akira turned around to look at Morgana, who was sat on the floor behind him. "He's going to find out eventually."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "But for now, let's not worry about it."

"Agreed." Morgana turned around and started walking towards the stairs. "Come on, I wanna go to bed."

"Is that why you always force me to go to bed?"

"Maybe."

Akira sighed, and then his phone buzzed.

_I got home safely. Sis isn't here yet though._

A small smile formed on Akira's face as he sent the reply.

_Glad to hear it. Hopefully she'll be home soon._

_Yeah. See you tomorrow._

"Akira!"

The boy sighed, and walked upstairs.

...

"So as you can see, people throughout time have built various monuments all around the world dedicated to people, cultures, even events that have happened..."

The teacher's droning voice was putting Akira to sleep. In front of him, Ann was struggling to stay awake as well.

"Hey, Akira," Morgana hissed from under the desk. "Don't fall asleep, you might miss something important!"

Akira's phone buzzed, drawing the boy's attention.

_Are you free after school? I want to do another date._

Akira's stomach did a flip. Another date?

_Yeah. Where do you want to meet?_

_How about the Big Bang Burger? We can get some food and talk as well._

_Sounds great. I'll meet you there._

"Kurusu!" Akira looked over at the teacher. "What statue is currently standing outside of Diver City in Odaiba?"

"Uhh.. A-A statue of a horse?" Akira answered.

"Incorrect." The teacher picked up a large photo from the desk next to them. "It is actually a statue of the Unicorn Gundam, which replaced the previous statue of the original Gundam, also known as the RX-78." The teacher placed the photo down and picked up another one. "At certain times of the day, it will transform into what is called its 'Destroy Mode', along with a light show."

"How did he get that wrong?"

"Maybe he isn't as smart as we thought..."

"A transforming statue... We need to go and see that," Morgana muttered.

...

"Why are we here?" Morgana asked.

"M-Makoto wanted to go on that second date here," he explained simply.

"Ohhh. Well why didn't you say so?"

"Hey." Akira turned around to see Makoto waiting behind them. "Thank you for agreeing to do this on such short notice."

"It's fine," he said. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Makoto opened the door Akira was reaching for and held it open for him, forcing him to awkwardly step through the door as though that was his plan all along.

_Being a gentleman is harder than those movies make it look._

"So," Makoto began, interrupting his thoughts. "What will you be having?"

"Uh... I-I think I'll be having the Saturn Potato," he said.

"Oh. I will have the Venus Salad, then."

"Ooh! A Saturn Potato for me please!" Morgana called out of the bag. Akira and Makoto shared a glance.

"If we put it in the bag and clean it out afterwards..."

"Then he can have it. Good thinking, Akira." The boy smiled, and the two went up to order their meals together.

"Sae came home from work in a foul mood yesterday," Makoto said as they placed their food down at a table and sat down opposite one another.

"Oh?" Akira placed the Mona bag down next to him and quickly put the second Saturn Potato in the bag for Morgana to enjoy. "What happened?"

"Apparently, some of Akechi's fangirls asked her to pass along some presents from them. They thought she was his mother."

Akira started sniggering. "Wow. Seriously?"

"Yeah. She was not happy." Makoto giggled for a moment, but was soon distracted. Akira had stopped sniggering and was talking to Morgana about Sae, but there was something different about him today, Makoto noticed. He wasn't as awkward as he was on the first date. It was still blatantly obvious that he was trying to be a gentleman, his attempt to get the door for her made that obvious...

Then he took off his glasses, complaining about how the sun was reflecting into them, and she saw his eyes, the light dancing in them as he looked at her and Morgana, how animated and happy they were, how the smile on his face from whatever Morgana had said made him look even more handsome-

Wait, what?

"...Makoto?" Akira asked, causing her to lurch back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be fine?" she quickly babbled before nervously giggling to herself, causing Akira to look at her with concern.

"Are you sure? You didn't seem to be with us."

"I am fine," Makoto stated, a little more fiercely than she intended, judging by how Akira had leant back in response. "Sorry, Akira. We should just cut today short," she explained.

"Oh." Akira looked saddened by that. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Sorry," she said.

"It-it's fine. We can always do this another time," he told her.

_Ask them about it,_ a voice in the back of her head told her.

Should she ask them about it?

...

"Makoto?" Akira asked they walked out of the shop. "Is everything okay?"

"I-I think so. Sorry for snapping in there, it's just..." Her voiced trailed off, as she quietly tried to quell the rising panic from what had happened.

"Makoto..." Akira began. "T-Talk to me."

Without warning, Makoto promptly threw her arms around Akira and hugged him, causing him to stumbled backwards with a squeak.

"M-Makoto?" he squeaked.

"I don't know. I don't know, I don't know, Akira... None of this is making sense!"

Akira had no response to that, other than to gently wrap his arms around her to hopefully comfort her in some way.

"I-I don't..."

"Breathe, Makoto," Morgana reminded her. "Remind yourself of when you were last in a safe and happy place."

Makoto took a deep breath. And then another. Slowly, she started calming down, her breathing slowly becoming less erratic, more stable.

"S-sorry," she said, moving backwards out of Akira's embrace, an embarrassed look on her face. "I-I got scared a-and..."

"D-don't worry about it. Do you want to talk about it?" Akira asked.

"N-no. Not now. B-but soon." Makoto took a deep breath and looked at Akira. "But thank you for today. I'm afraid I didn't learn much about dating, though."

"That's okay." Akira smiled at her, causing a fluttering sensation in her chest which confused her even further. "We can always go on another one."

"Y-yeah." Makoto returned the smile. "I-I'll text you when I get home," she said, before turning around and hurriedly walking away.

"What happened to her?" Akira asked as he and Morgana watched her walk away.

"She was staring at you for a long time in there, and she suggested the dates in the first place. So..."

"...I had something on my face?" Akira asked as he started trying to wipe his face with his fingers.

Morgana groaned. _If only I had my human form back, this would_ _be easier._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Trying something here in regards to Akira's personality, so apologies for any decrease in quality. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter anyway, should be three more to come when I get round to writing them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Spoilers for Titanic ahead.

_I didn't think they had guns and cars back then._

_You're watching Robert and Julie, aren't you?_

_It was Ryuji_ _who_ _suggested it. He said it was good for researching love._

_Of course it was Ryuji's idea..._

Makoto smiled. So far, the film hadn't really shown anything that resembled love, just people driving cars and shooting at each other, but she'd only just started it. She figured it'd get to the love part soon.

Her phone buzzed again. That fluttering sensation was back. Why?

_Did you manage to find any books on dating?_

_Not yet. But I think I'm better researching love instead of dating._

_Oh. Well,_ w _e could go and see that film about that ship that sank if you wanted to do more research on love. It could even be a date._

_A ship that sank? What has that got to do with love?_

_There's some sort of love story tied into it, apparently._

_Oh. Then yeah_ _, that would be nice. When?_

_If you don't have anything to do on Sunday, how about then?_

_Sounds great. I'll see you then._

The fluttering had gotten even stronger.

But there wasn't time to think about it now. The front door unlocked, telling Makoto that Sae had arrived home safely. Pausing the film for now, she swung her legs off her bed and made her way out of her bedroom to greet her sister.

"...really don't see why we need him so much-"

"Hey, sis? Can I ask you something?" Makoto asked.

Sae locked the door back up and turned to face her little sister. "What about?"

"W-well..." Makoto shifted her feet awkwardly. "It's about love."

"Love?" Sae's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"We have to do an essay on love, and I'm struggling to explain some of the emotions people may feel," she explained.

"Right." Sae leant back against the couch and folded her arms. "Well, I'm waiting."

"S-so..." Makoto looked down at the ground. "How does it feel to be in love?"

"I don't know." Sae bluntly stated.

"Oh..."

"But I've heard some of my co-workers talk about it. They've mentioned feeling butterflies when they saw the people they claimed to love. They also noticed more things about them, like their eyes."

"Butterflies?" she asked.

"Some sort of fluttering sensation, I don't know."

_A fluttering sensation..._ Makoto thought. _Like the one from the second date?_

"Do your textbooks not have anything on it?" Sae asked.

"No."

"You'll need to get more books. Or ask one of your friends about it." Sae stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "Help me make tea, will you?"

"Yeah, sure." Makoto followed after her sister, still lost in thought.

_Their eyes..._

_The way his eyes danced..._

_Does that mean...?_

"Makoto!" Sae snapped. "Watch what you are doing!"

"S-sorry!"

...

"I wish I could get to fight," Morgana grumbled.

The group had returned to Mementos to train further as a way to use some of their spare time, but Akira had chosen to take Ann, Yusuke and Ryuji with him to fight the Shadows, leaving Makoto and Morgana to wait behind.

"I know the feeling. I want to go out there and fight."

Both let out a sigh as Makoto rested her head on the steering wheel.

"Hey, Mona?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"What? No," Morgana quickly answered, confusing Makoto.

"Why did you answer so quickly there?"

"Uh, I-I didn't."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I'm just trying to figure some things out," she explained.

"Oh. Well, I'll help anyway I can, then!"

"Thank you." Makoto looked up from the steering wheel to check outside the windows. The group were still battling the Shadows, but Makoto looked just in time to see Ryuji get knocked onto his backside by an attack, with Joker immediately jumping in front of him to protect him.

"I've recently started experiencing fluttering sensations whenever I'm around Joker," she began. "It started after our first date ended. I thought it was maybe an illness, but it happened again during our second date. As well as that, I found myself... lost, in his eyes, as weird as that sounds. Seeing his smile makes me feel happier, and I find myself thinking of him often."

"Oh?" Morgana said. "How do you feel when you think about him?"

Makoto remembered a memory of Akira laughing at something. She wasn't sure what, but the memory of him laughing made her smile.

"He makes me smile."

"That's not really an answer, but..."

Makoto watched as Akira took down the last Shadow, and began walking back towards the car with the group.

"You should tell him. He'd want to hear about it."

"Maybe. I'll tell him soon, then. But what if he doesn't understand?"

"He will," Morgana reassured her. "I know he will."

"How do you know?" she asked.

Morgana didn't answer.

Makoto shifted over to allow Joker to take the driver's seat. "How did the battle go? No injuries, I hope?"

"Nah, we kicked their asses!" Ryuji said.

Yusuke didn't answer, having immediately set back to work drawing something.

"Aside from that one who knocked you down," Ann chirped.

"Hey! They got lucky!" he snapped back.

Akira sighed and looked at her, smiling. "We took care of them. No problems whatsoever."

"Good." Makoto turned around to look at Ryuji. "You did eat, yes?"

"Of course I did! Gah, go fuss over Joker or something," he retorted.

Makoto glanced at Akira, who was shaking his head. "Eat your food and relax, Ryuji," he told him as he set off driving the Morganamobile.

"I am doing!"

...

"So, are you ready, Akira?" Morgana asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm ready," Akira said, as he fiddled with his hands, forgetting that he didn't have gloves on at the moment.

He and Makoto were supposed to see the ship film together today. But before he had set off to the theatre, she had texted him saying that she needed to talk to him about something, but didn't tell him what.

"Any idea w-what she wanted to talk about?" he had asked Morgana.

"Nope," he had answered, choosing to leave Akira to squirm.

He knew what she was going to say, but he was not going to ruin the surprise. This was for them to talk about.

"H-Hey." Akira turned around to see Makoto standing behind him.

"Hey." The two stood awkwardly facing each other for a moment, until Akira held a hand out. "S-shall we?"

"Of course," she said, taking his hand and walking alongside him into the theatre.

"So, we need to buy the tickets... Should we get popcorn?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, we should. A bucket between us would be good." The duo walked up towards the ticket office and paid for their tickets, before walking over to buy a bucket of popcorn.

"So, are we ready?" Makoto asked, bucket of popcorn held in her arm.

"Yeah. Are you?" Akira answered.

"Of course. Let's go."

...

"I'm flying, John!"

"I'm sure it would be a bad idea to have her step up there, considering when they first met, she was about to throw herself off of the ship," Makoto quietly observed.

"Be quiet, you're ruining the movie," Morgana hissed.

"But still! I am sure Ann would not get Shiho up there."

"You have a point, but I'm sure John wouldn't let her fall," Akira told her, before pointing to the theatre screen.

Rosa had pulled her arms in and turned her face towards John, who had positioned himself very close by to her. Slowly, the two inched closer together, before finally, to the cheers of the audience and Morgana, their lips touched and they began kissing.

"Is that love?" Makoto asked.

"I think it is," Akira answered.

...

"So," Makoto began once they were clear of people who they could potentially spoil the film for. "She almost threw herself overboard to avoid getting married, she then got shot at by her fiancé and then when the boat sank, she left John to freeze in the ocean..."

"I guess she was too in shock to realise there was space on the door?" Akira said.

"Anyway!" Morgana interrupted loudly, before either of his friends could ruin the amazing film they had just watched for him. "Makoto, you said wanted to talk about something with Akira?"

"O-oh, right." Makoto turned to face Akira. "Do you remember our second date?"

"Yes, why?"

"W-well..." Makoto looked away. "I've been getting these sensations. Like, when you smile, or laugh, I-I get this fluttering sensation in my chest, and I end up smiling or giggling, like I am now," she said as she started smiling.

"O-Oh?"

"And, well... People sometimes can do a thing where they stare at someone's eyes and can, um, get lost in them, and... that's what happened on the second date," she said quickly. "It has never happened before, and I didn't understand it, so I got scared, and, well, I kind of still am. I-I was hoping you could understand and help me figure it out.

"Oh, well. I-It kinda sounds like what I've been experiencing."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah. I don't know what it m-means, though."

"Oh come on, you two!" Morgana yelled out, poking his head out of his bag. "It means you love each other!"

"What?!"

Akira and Makoto looked at each other, and then at Morgana, and then back at each other.

"W-We... Do?"

Both were silent for a while, processing what had just been said.

Akira was first to speak, breaking the long silence. "S-so... That means...Urk!" he squeaked as Makoto threw her arms around him again.

_She must really like hugs._

"A-Akira... C-Can we try something?" she asked hesitantly from where her head was on his shoulder.

"S-Sure..."

"T-Thank you. It-It's from o-one of m-my books..."

Makoto moved back slightly, enough to be able to see his face. She wished she could see his eyes, see she was doing the right thing here.

Instead, she closed her eyes, and inched herself forward to meet his lips.

The world around them stopped.

Technically, it wasn't anything fancy, just a simple peck on the lips.

But to Akira and Makoto, it was so much more.

It was a star going supernova, a feeling of cold ice cream and hot cookie dough, butterflies dancing in the twilight sky...

It was everything and yet nothing, all at once.

_So_ , Makoto thought as she broke the kiss. _This must be what love feels like._

"Makoto..." Akira whispered.

"I'm-" Makoto opened her mouth to say something, maybe apologise for her rash action, but her words were cut short as Akira moved to fill the space between them with a peck of his own.

The fluttering sensation grew stronger, but a rush of warm happiness grew in her chest alongside it as Akira broke the kiss and the two gazed at each other, trying to process the new step they had taken.

_About time, you two,_ Morgana thought from inside the bag.

"So... S-So what now?" Akira asked.

Makoto smiled and let out a relieved sigh, thankful he hadn't freaked out over her move. "I-I-I think I would like to practice s-some more, if you want t-to...?"

"I-I would love to," Akira told her, before contently wrapping his arms around her in an embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I don't really know what to say. The last section felt amazing to write, so I really hope you enjoyed this chapter


	4. Chapter 4

"This outfit's starting to get tight... Did they get bigger again?"

"Huh? Speak up, Panther, that sounds like vital information!"

Makoto and Akira swapped glances with each other and the Shadow who had come running up in front of them, before Akira subtly held up three fingers, silently counting down "three, two, one..."

"That wasn't an excuse to look at them!"

"Hey! It's a great view!"

Akira honked the horn, elicting a yelp from Morgana and causing the Shadow who had decided to step in front of the car to hear them better to run away in a panic.

"What was that for?" Morgana complained.

"It was in the way."

Makoto sighed and looked out the passenger window, a finger pressed against her forehead.

_Sometimes I don't understand how we manage to work as a team_ , she thought. Then she noticed Akira's reflection in the window smirking, causing her to smile and turn back from the window to look out of the front of the car.

Their team was a dysfunctional one, but was a good one nontheless.

"Fox?" she asked, turning around, only to see him engrossed in working on a sketch again, the irritation from the rather bumpy ride showing under his mask, a small light he'd borrowed from Akira illuminating his sketchbook.

"He's drawing again," she said as she turned back around to face the front of the car.

"Any idea what?" Akira asked.

"No. I couldn't see."

"Oh."

Makoto spotted something shiny ahead. "I think that's a treasure chest."

"It is. Nice work, Queen." She hoped the darkness would hide her blush from what he said.

Akira pulled the car up next to the treasure chest and hopped out to open it up.

"Anything cool in there?" Ryuji called out as Akira grabbed out a padlock from the treasure chest.

"Just another one of those unopenable padlocks," he explained as he hopped back into the car.

"We can at least sell it for some yen," Morgana pointed out.

"Indeed. We could use some more money," Yusuke mumbled to himself.

"Shadows ahead," Morgana warned, causing the group to look up.

A single Shadow was standing in front of them, staring at the car.

"I think it's the same one as before," Akira observed.

"How can ya tell? They all look the same to me."

"It's staring at Panther."

The car was silent for a moment. Until a voice spoke up from behind Akira.

"We should take care of it then. Panther seems uncomfortable," Yusuke said.

"Right. Queen, Skull, Panther, with me." The four of them got out of the car and began to walk up towards the Shadow, which morphed into the form of a Heavenly Punisher.

"Queen, you ready?" Akira asked.

"Of course. Skull, Panther, stand back."

"What was the point of having us come with you, then?" Ryuji moaned.

"You dare stand in my way?" the Punisher boasted. "I will crush you!"

"Good luck with that." Akira ran forward, only to get swatted away by the Punisher, as part of the plan.

What wasn't part of the plan was for Akira to be sent head first into a column by the Punisher.

"Joker!"

"Ah, shit. Joker!"

"And you!" the Punisher turned towards Makoto, pointing its sword towards her. "You are next!"

_Akira..._

The Punisher drove its sword towards Makoto.

"Queen, look out!" Ann called out.

This time, Makoto didn't try to block it, instead dodging to the side and breaking the sword in half with a single, furious uppercut.

_Please be okay._

"What?!" the Punisher roared, backing away from Makoto. "What are you?"

Makoto didn't answer. Just started advancing forward towards it.

"Why can a-" the creature's question was cut off as Makoto pulled out her revolver and shot a buillet into its wing, knocking it to the ground and onto one knee with a howl.

"Mercy," it demanded.

Makoto kicked its leg, driving it onto both of its knees.

"Mercy!" it cried out.

Makoto slugged it in the abdomen area, doubling it over onto its hands and knees.

"Mer...cy," it begged.

Makoto delivered a final uppercut to its head, reducing the creature to nothing.

"Yeah... We should not get on her bad side," Ann stated.

Makoto didn't stop to call them over, instead walking over to where Akira's slumped form lay and kneeling next to him, putting her gun away as she did.

"Akira...?" she whispered, pulling his arm up to check his wrist.

_There's a pulse. Thank God._

"Is Joker alright?" Ryuji asked as he and Ann walked over to where he was lying.

"Yes, but he's lost consciousness. Bring the car around, quickly," she ordered them.

"On it. I'll drive."

"No, I'll drive, Queen."

"What's wrong with me driving?!" Ryuji snapped as he and Ann ran back to the Morganamobile.

_No bleeding... He might have internal injuries, however. We will need to have him checked out by a doctor. We'll need to tell Sojiro, and someone will need to stay with him overnight to make sure he's alright_ , Makoto thought as she waited, attempting to ward off the rising fear she felt.

_What's taking them so long?!_

The screeching of tires told them the car had arrived. "Is Joker okay?" Morgana asked.

"I don't know. He seems to be, I can't see any bleeding," she explained. "Skull, help me put him in the passenger side. I'll drive us out of here."

"Why have I got to do everything?" he complained. To his credit, he at least was able to look guilty and mumbled out a sheepish apology when Makoto glared at him.

"Hmm?" Yusuke put down his sketchbook as Ryuji and Makoto moved Akira into the car. "Is Joker alright?"

"He got knocked out by one of the Shadows," Ann quickly explained as Makoto buckled Akira in, before moving back to sit in the driver seat.

"Panther, swap seats with Skull and make sure Joker stays steady and upright," Makoto told them.

"Got it, don't worry Queen."

"Everyone else, fasten your seatbelts." Makoto took hold of the steering wheel. "Mona, gun it."

...

"How is he?" Yusuke asked as Makoto and Ryuji set Akira down on the bed.

"His pulse is fine, and he isn't bleeding on his head. But he may have internal injuries," Makoto explained.

"There's a clinic nearby that Akira's been helping. The doctor there might be able to help," Morgana said.

"Where? Can you take Ryuji there?" Makoto asked.

"Do I have to?"

"Why do I have to go with him?"

"Enough." Both Morgana and Ryuji flinched and looked at Makoto. "Our leader is hurt. This is not the time for arguing about having to go places with people we don't get along with."

"It's not like-" Morgana's protest was cut short by a glare. "Right... Come on, Ryuji," he said, hopping off Akira's bed and over to his bag and hopping into it.

"We'll bring the doctor here, count on it," Ryuji said as he picked up the bag and set off down the stairs.

"The rest of you should head home, then. I'll stay here with Akira and explain the situation to Boss."

"Are you sure, Makoto?" Ann asked.

"Yes. One of us needs to stay here."

"Shouldn't it be an unanimous vote?" Yusuke asked.

"It should, right?"

Makoto sighed. "Then we'll wait for Ryuji and Morgana to come back, then."

...

"So you said he tripped and fell into a lamppost, head first?" Tae asked as she moved Akira's head around, inspecting him.

"Yes, that is what happened."

"Hmm... I can't see any injuries. But you'll have to leave him be, unless you want to take him to the hospital to get checked out properly," she told them.

"Is there nothing at all you can do for him?" Makoto demanded.

"No." Tae stood up and faced the group, eyeing them skeptically. "I don't have the equipment needed to check for internal injuries. Your best hope is to just leave him be until he wakes up. He should be able to tell you his condition then." Tae began to walk past them, only to be stopped by Makoto grabbing her arm.

"You have to help him. Please."

Tae gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, there's nothing more I can do right now." Sliding her arm free of Makoto's loosened grip, she continued walking past them until she began walking down the stairs, leaving the group to stare at Makoto, who was looking worriedly at Akira.

"Makoto..." Ann began, walking up next to her. "Are you okay?"

Makoto let out a frustrated sigh, but then took a deep breath in and turned to look at the rest of the group. "I am okay. But we need to decide who's going to stay with Akira and give the rest of us updates, since Morgana can't use a phone," she said, cutting off Morgana's immediate rebuttal. "I would propose it should be me."

"Why can't we all stay?" Morgana suggested.

"Because too many of us staying up here would make Sojiro suspicious. I know how to make sure he is comfortable and how to help him if he gets worse and can always call the hospital if he needs it," she explained.

The group was silent for a moment, until a voice piped up behind Ryuji. "I agree. Makoto seems best suited to this after all."

"Thank you, Yusuke." Makoto looked at the remaining three.

"Yeah, Makoto should be fine.

"Gah... Fine."

"Okay then, Makoto will stay here.

"Thank you. I'll go and let Sojiro know. You should all start heading for home." The group slowly started to disperse, leaving only Ann, Makoto and Morgana in the room.

"Makoto... Are you sure you're gonna be alright?" Ann asked.

"Yes." Makoto gave her a weak smile. "It's him I'm more worried about."

"I know. But he'll be fine," she tried to say reassuringly. When that failed, she simply gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and said her goodbyes.

Once the jingle of a bell told him they had left, Makoto let out a exhausted sigh and collapsed to her knees. "That took so long..."

"You aren't the only one worrying, you know," Morgana reminded her.

"I know..." Makoto turned around to look at the form of Akira, who was still out, from the looks of it. "I better go tell Sojiro." Staggering up to her feet, she walked over to the stairs and started walking down them to speak to Sojiro.

"...Yeah, kid's doing alright. Been on top of his schoolwork, so can't complain."

"I see. My sister has-Makoto?"

Any other day, Makoto would've panicked upon seeing Sae in Leblanc. But today, after all the worrying and fear and more worrying, all she could think was how this made things easier.

"Sis?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. What were you doing up there?" Sae demanded.

"I was helping a friend study." Makoto turned to look at Sojiro. "Will I be okay to stay here? Akira hurt his head pretty badly and I want to make sure he's okay if he wakes up in the night."

"No you won-"

"Sure." Sojiro turned to look at Sae. "I trust that kid. Nothing will happen. Now, are you going to finish that coffee or should I charge you for wasting my beans?"

"...Fine. But you come straight home as soon as you know he's okay," Sae told her.

Makoto nodded. "Thank you, Sae, Sojiro."

...

His head hurt.

His head hurt a lot.

That was the first noticed Akira as he began to wake up. Slowly cracking his eyes open, he noticed it was dark, very dark.

Why was it so dark?

He vaguely recalled that he and Makoto were going to perform their fake out combo they had created for countering Heavenly Punishers, but after that... Nothing.

Was he still in Mementos?

No. A quick glance upwards told him he was back in the real world.

If it was dark then...

The café! He must not have locked up!

He tried to move, only to notice two things.

One, there was a small weight on his chest.

Two, something was holding his hand.

Using his free hand, he poked the weight on his chest. It began to move, uncurl, ask for five more minutes of sleep.

Akira smirked. _That must be Morgana_ , he realised.

Then who was holding his hand?

Akira turned his head to look at where his hand was being gripped from. He couldn't tell much from here, but whoever it was had brown hair...

"Akira?" Morgana asked.

"What happened, Morgana? How did I get here?"

"You took a pretty bad hit to the head when that Punisher threw you aside. Makoto's basically been by your side since we got back," he explained.

Then that must be Makoto.

"Makoto?" he asked, getting a tired mumbled in response.

"She must've been about to fall asleep. She's been awake there since the others left."

"...Akira?" she asked, sitting up straight from where she had slumped on the chair from falling asleep.

"Hey. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that. How are you feeling?" she asked back.

"Head hurts. But I'm fine," he said, moving up into a sitting position

"No headache or dizziness?"

"Nope."

"Good." Without warning, Akira found himself getting hugged by Makoto, causing him to let out a brief squeak. "I was worried... The doctor who came by said all we could do was wait for you to wake up..."

"I'm awake now." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, comforting her. "Are the others alright?"

"Yes, although I had to use the charger for your phone since I forgot to bring mine." She held her phone out to him. "Anything you want to tell them?"

Akira smirked and blushed slightly, and typed something out and hit send on Makoto's phone, before passing it back to her.

"W-why did you put that?" Makoto squeaked upon reading it, the phone light revealing her blush.

"Because it's true."

"B-but they don't know! You can't just send 'Makoto looked adorable today' without context!" Makoto furiously typed a message and sent it, before letting out a sigh. "We still need to talk about it ourselves..."

"Well..."

"Akira, no. You need to rest."

"I'm fine, Makoto. Besides, why not?"

"Because..."

"I'm going back to sleep." Morgana walked down to the bottom of the bed and settled down. Makoto and Akira looked at him, then at each other.

"Makoto..." Akira gently took her hand with his, crossing his legs and turning to face her. "We've known each other, for so long..."

Makoto rolled her eyes and giggled. "And you're never gonna give me up?"

"Never gonna let you down either," Akira said, his smile eventually breaking as he started to laugh.

Makoto started laughing as well. Eventually, it subsided, and the two stared at each other, the light of her phone illuminating their faces.

"God... I love you, Akira," she told him, a warm blush creeping up their faces as his smile returned and grew wider.

"I have an idea."

"I think I know what this is, and-"

"If you don't want to, we don't have to, we can just keep dating..."

"Yes, I want to. But we should tell them first." Makoto picked up her phone with her free hand, she brought it up to their faces and turned it around, allowing Akira to type a message and send it.

"So..." Makoto said, turning the phone around for her to read it. "It's official. We are a couple."

"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Attendum 23/3/19: I am not sorry at all for that reference.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. One more to go now. It's been fun writing this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Gonna be tweaking canon here to avoid spoilers and because trying to research an event ended up spoiling something in the plot for myself. Whoops.

All right, that was a great performance by the dance club! Everybody give them another round of applause!"

A smattering of respectful applause from an audience who already looked like they were bored to death with the event as Makoto let out a sigh.

"...My apologies for being so distracted, Akira. I'm more used to being on the stage talking to the school than in the audience watching, so I'm not sure what to do..." she admitted.

"It's okay. I'm not sure what to do either," he said.

"That's right. You haven't seen what happens during the post festival yet, have you?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, after the clubs have all been on stage..."

"And now, it's time for your favourite Shujin tradition: the Student Sharing Special! Round of applause, everyone!"

"The Student Sharing Special happens, where the MC calls upon students to share something with the rest of the school," Makoto explained as more respectful applause rang out. "This event is never really popular. The older teachers seem to enjoy it for some reason though..."

"Probably because it lets them find out stuff about the students," Akira guessed.

"Perhaps."

"All right, who has something to say? Anyone? Anyone?!" The MC called out. "No? I'll just have to pick someone then!"

"He's choosing from the crowd? This year's MC is actually somewhat capable," Makoto observed.

"The last ones weren't?"

"No. The one from last year got caught in-"

"Oooh, is that our lovely student council president over there?!"

Makoto let out a quiet but alarmed yelp as the rest of the audience turned to look at her, causing Akira to smirk slightly

"Come on up here, Miss Prez!" the MC called to her.

Makoto turned towards Akira pleadingly. "...Do I have to go?" she asked.

Akira's smirk grew playful and he nodded. "I'll never forget you, 'Miss Prez'," he told her, adopting a saddened, dramatic tone as he spoke as though it was the last time he would ever see her.

"That's not really the proper use for that phrase..."

"Everybody's waiting for you, Miss President!" The suddenly attentive audience let out a collection of cheers and applause as Makoto sighed and began to make her way to the stage, with Akira walking away to grab a seat at the front of the audience.

"Here she is!" the MC began as Makoto stepped in front of the microphone on the stage. "Everyone's favourite student council president, Makoto Niijima!"

"Hello..." she began uncertainly, still adjusting to the surprise of being suddenly called on stage.

"So, with everything that's happened this year, like the Kamoshida scandal, I'd be surprised if you even had time to be studying for your entrance exams!"

"W-Well, I-"

"Now then, on with the show! What would you like to share with us today, Miss President?" the MC asked.

Makoto stayed silent, attempting to think of what to say.

"Miss President?"

"Ummm... I don't really have anything to say..." she quietly admitted. "...I'm sorry."

"That's okay! Here, I'll give you a question!" The MC quickly glanced at the flash cards in his hand, before looking back at Makoto. "What do you think of these 'Phantom Thieves', who were supposedly involved in Kamoshida scandal?"

"What?"

"The Phantom Thieves! They've stirred up quite a storm this year, from their mysterious calling cards, to a site dedicated to supporting them appearing on the internet and even a scandal involving a famous artist being credited to them! Some people are theorizing that they may not be as noble as they appear, or that they might not even exist! So what do you think, Miss President? Do you believe the Phantom Thieves exist?"

"Well... I think they exist."

"You do? Well then, what do you think of their involvement with Kamoshida? Do you think what they are doing is noble or do you think they have personal reasons?" the MC asked as Makoto shifted uncomfortably from side to side.

_This could be awkward_ , Akira observed. _Let's_ _change the subject._

"Well..."

An idea popped into Akira's head. Allowing his expression to grow into a genuine smile, he stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth and proceeded to yell "I've always loved you, Makoto!" out loud in front of the entire audience.

The adorably squeaky "What?!" that came from the surprised student president only made his smile grow wider, even more so when a particularly bewildered voice shouted "For real?!" from high up behind him.

"Now this is drama! A boy caught up in the throes of bittersweet youth! A stunning confession of love!"

The audience started up with supportive cheers and comments as Makoto looked at Akira, letting out a groan as her face turned a dark shade of crimson while the MC pointed him out for everyone else to see.

"Sooo, Miss President... What's your relation to this guy? Is he your boyfriend? Or perhaps a secret lover?" the MC said teasingly.

"R-relation..?!" she stammered out.

"My, she's red as a beet! A rare glimpse into the girly side of our stunning Miss President!" Makoto started trying to look away from the audience, Akira, the MC, anything, while the audience let out a sympathetic "aww".

"But, I'm a gentleman! It hurts my heart to bully such a sweet girl! But I do hope you enjoyed our blushing beauty, so let's give it up for her! Thank you very much, Miss President!" he announced to a choir of disappointed chatter as Makoto made her way off the stage.

"Now, who should be next..."

"Over here, over here! This guy's got something!" A voice called out from above.

"Hmm... Where is 'this guy'?" The MC made a grand show of looking around before dramatically sighing. "I can't seem to find him! Oh well! Uh, Blondie, step on up here!" he called out, pointing above Akira's head.

"Whattt!?" the unlucky person yelled out, drawing the audience's attention and giving Akira the chance to slip out of the room after Makoto, who was walking up the stairs towards the roof.

"...I made a fool of myself," she groaned as she walked out onto the school roof, Akira close behind her. "The post festival party has never felt that long before..."

"I don't know. Felt like it went by pretty quickly to me," Akira mumbled, which went unheard.

"By the way... I'm surprised you were able to say what you did back there."

"Well," Akira began, taking her hand. "You looked like you were having trouble, so I tried to help."

"Huh... I was at a complete loss for words." She walked forward and gently wrapped him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. "You really helped me... Thank you," she told him.

He wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close. "It's alright."

She closed her eyes, allowing the steady rhythm of his heart to comfort her. "This may be a little rude to say, but you're surprisingly reliable in a pinch."

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, his silent response of "Really?" going unnoticed by her.

"My sister always says if I get married, my husband should always be someone dependable like that..." Silence filled the roof for a few seconds, until what Makoto had just said hit both of them, causing her eyes to fly open in alarm as she took a few steps away from her boyfriend, her face turning the colour of a beet again. "Oh, um... Uh, forget what I just said!" she said as she laughed uncomfortably.

"H-Husband? C-Can you say that again?" Akira squeaked, his own face going crimson as well as Makoto let out an embarrassed groan. Both stood in silence, the awkwardness hanging thickly in the air until Makoto had recovered enough to look back at him.

"Despite everything that's happened with Eiko... My final post-festival party has turned out to be quite the unforgettable one," she admitted.

"Yeah. Same here. Are they always like this?" Akira asked.

"No. Usually, they aren't very fun."

The two entered a silence again, albeit a much more comfortable one, before Makoto started routing through her vest pocket.

"Oh, right... Here," she said, holding out a small box with "donuts" written on the top in smooth handwriting. "If you'd accept this..."

"Donuts?" Akira asked as he gently took the box off of her, opening it to look at them. "Thank you, Makoto. They look delicious."

"I hope you enjoy it," she told him, allowing herself a small smile, before holding a hand out to him. "Come, let's go home."

Akira nodded and took her hand, and the two began to walk towards the door-

"-they picked me instead of you, I can't believe that they picked me instead of you!" the annoyed grumblings of Ryuji became audible as he barged through the door onto the roof, Mishima snickering close behind him at his friend's misfortune, only for both to stop at the sight of Akira and Makoto in front of them.

"Oh, Niijima-senpai, Kurusu-kun, we didn't-"

"It's okay," Makoto said, cutting off Mishima's attempt at apologies. "We were leaving."

"Oh. Heh," Mishima chuckled. "You two should've seen Sakamoto-kun, he was a big chicken on the stage!"

"Shut it," Ryuji hissed. "You were the one who was suppposed to be picked, not me.

"I know! It's karma!" Mishima laughed as Akira and Makoto shared a glance before walking through the door and down the stairs.

...

_Did you get home safely?_

Makoto smiled down at her phone as she sent her reply.

_Yes, I did. Did you?_

_Yeah._

_Good._

Makoto turned the DVD player on and set a film off playing as she pulled herself into a cross legged position, flicking through a textbook until her phone buzzed again.

_Are you free Saturday?_

_Yes, I am._

_Okay. I was thinking a night in would do us some good, between school and Mementos, we've not really had time to relax, have we?_

_That is true._ A thought occured to Makoto as she sent that text, one that made her cringe. _There was also something I wanted to try, from my books. We could try it then, if you wanted?_

_Sure. See you then._

A part of her wondered if she was even doing the right thing. She remembered what she'd been taught in classes about it, and she'd watched the videos Eiko had provided for her on the subject, but actually doing it...

She'd need to be prepared. She might have charged into this unprepared, but she sure wasn't going to risk anything happening. Quickly making a mental list of everything she needed for Saturday, she immediately focussed on the film to push the thought to the back of her mind.

_Oh, they're staring at each other through a fish tank. Is that normal?_

_Maybe it means something? Like the glass is showing their magnified desires?_

_Could be._ _Also, Yusuke sent me a drawing he did._

A picture appeared on her phone, showing a drawing of her catching a Heavenly Punisher's blade between her hands and Akira with the gun in its side.

_Wow. That looks very impressive._

_It is._

...

Makoto emerged out onto the open street from the train station, letting out an annoyed groan upon seeing the rain falling. She went to put her umbrella up, only for the rain to suddenly stop hitting her.

"I fixed it," Akira announced in a goofy tone which made her chuckle.

"I see you did. Thank you," she told him as they huddled closely under his umbrella. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Both linked hands and began to walk along the road to the café.

"What was the thing you wanted to try?" Akira asked as they walked along.

"Oh, um..." A dark blush crept onto her face as she lowerered her gaze. "I-I'll explain when we get there," she said quickly.

"Oh, okay." Both resumed their walk in silence, Makoto's face finally returning to it's usual colour when they arrived outside of Leblanc. Opening the door for her, Akira allowed Makoto to step inside first, before stepping inside and closing the door after himself.

"Hey, boss," Makoto greeted Sojiro.

"Hey. Did Akira tell you?" he asked.

"Tell me what?"

"I've got to close up early today. So you're free to stay here until you want to leave," Sojiro explained.

"O-oh, okay."

"So don't leave a mess." Sojiro took off his apron and folded it up, before heading for the door. "Lock up after me, will you?"

"Sure. Makoto, you okay to head upstairs? I'll be up in a moment," Akira asked. Makoto nodded and set off towards the stairs, checking her bag to make sure she had everything, the nervous feeling in her stomach growing worse every step she took into the attic. Quickly making her way to the bed, she sat down and started scanning the room around her, trying to distract herself from what she had planned.

"Where's Morgana?" Makoto called out.

"Ann asked if she could take him for the day. Morgana agreed, so I didn't see why not," Akira answered as he made his way upstairs.

_Come on, Makot_ o, a voice in her head told her. _Do it._

"A-Akira?" She asked as she stood up from the bed.

"Yes?" He walked up into the attic to see Makoto stood up, legs shaking as she walked towards him, hands held behind her back. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." She walked up to him, close enough for him to smell the shampoo in her hair again, and gently guided him to the couch before stepping away. "I-I wanted to show you something."

"Oh?" he asked curiously.

Crossing her arms at her waist, she began to pull up her t-shirt up and over her head, showing off her new white bikini top to Akira. "W-What do you think?" she asked, turning from side to side to show off the sides of the top.

The curious look on Akira's face quickly vanished and was replaced with a look of complete bafflement. "Erm... It suits you?" he said hesitantly, confused as to what she was doing.

_That's not what the guys said in the videos Eiko sent me_ , Makoto thought.

"O-Oh. M-maybe you should have a c-closer look?" She offered, walking over to sit next to him on shaky legs, internally questioning why this wasn't going how the videos did.

Akira looked away in embarrassment. "M-Makoto..."

She looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I... I don't want to."

She blinked. "Y-you don't want to...?" _That's definitely not how it went._ "W-Why?"

"It-It's not you, I-I-I just... I-I'm sorry, but can you p-please put your clothes back on...?

"O-of course." Makoto pulled her top back over her head and covered herself back up, cringing at what had just happened.

Both settled into an awkward silence for a while, until Akira spoke up again. "I'll... I'll go make us some coffee."

"Y-yes. C-Coffee would be nice," she admitted. Akira turned around and set off walking downstairs to make it, leaving Makoto to sit on the couch and hide her face in embarrassment.

_I didn't think if Akira wanted to do this_ she thought. _I didn't think if I wanted to do this_ _. I did all that research, did all the preperation and didn't think if this was what we wanted_ -

"Makoto?" Akira's voice called up the stairs, drawing her out of her thoughts. "It's ready."

Makoto stood up and made her way down the stairs to the ground floor, where she noticed Akira had placed her coffee on a table in a booth for her to sit in and was busy making his own coffee. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish making his.

"I-I'm sorry, Akira," she told him. "To b-be honest, I did not want to do that either."

"Why did you?" he asked.

"I-I thought that if I did that, i-it might lead to somethi- the one thing I haven't learned anything about yet. I thought if we did it..."

"...You could learn about it," he finished.

"Yes."

"Makoto..." Akira reached across the table and took one of her hands in both of his, running a thumb in a soothing manner over her knuckles. "I understand. But if we do it when we aren't ready, we'll both regret it later. Once we are both ready, then we'll talk about it," he told her.

"Are you sure?"

He smiled at her. "Of course I'm sure."

She smiled back, before taking a sip of her coffee. "In that case... Can you teach me about coffee?"

Akira nodded, before taking a sip of his coffee. "Yeah. But not now. For now, let's just relax and enjoy some peace and quiet."

"Of course." Makoto reached into her bag, pulling out a textbook." Shall we study?" she asked.

Akira's smile grew wider and warmer, and made the fluttering sensation in her chest grow stronger. "I'd like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Apologies if some scenes felt rushed, I did not enjoy writing the scene in the attic at all. Even implying that sort of thing is something I do not like, but I felt it was a lesson Makoto had to learn.
> 
> But this is it for Educating Makoto. I'll probably go back and fix some things, might add a chapter detailing Akira's feelings, but I enjoyed writing this fic a lot, and I'm very happy with the warm response it got. Shout out to the r/Fanfiction Discord and its users for helping me with this fic. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you all in the next fic, hopefully!


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